Missing Forum Members?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

In the Current Interweb Age of Information there are too many instances of ffolkes putting far too much “personal stuff” into the public domain, which if they had any sense, they wouldn’t.

So, I do respect ffolkes who do value their privacy, but of late, I’ve been perturbed by Forum members whose valued contributions, be they helpful/ interesting/ controversial/ other or a combination of categories, have, for the want of a better word, stopped!

Unfortunately, the Diners RIP Track is increasing in occupancy at a somewhat alarming rate, though I shouldn’t be that surprised, given, I guess the average age of a lot of Forum Members.

Now, I’m making a reasoned guess that some former prolific contributors have “out grown” this Forum / hobby; had a w**k/ lifestyle change; or simply moved on with their life.

Some of the youngsters have gone off to college, or started w**k, and or become interested in fast cars, and or, dare I say, faster women, and may at a later date return to the hobby, and therefore the Forum. but even though I lost a good workmate/friend to cancer at the tender age of 42, it’s not the youngsters I think about, excepting that I occasionally wonder how they’re going, and that they’re having a “Happy Life”.

There are, of course, Forum Members who have left enough “breadcrumbs, that I feel certain that I can identify their real persona, others I know who frequent other forums which is where I would make inquiries, but then there are other regulars who I wouldn’t have a clue how contact them.

So, I guess the question I’m asking is, do you have (even if it is for the far distant future) a notification system in place? That is if you even care.

Cheers, the curious Bear.[:)]

2

What is this w**k you speak of - this mystery word. Forums themselves can be relatively ephemeral, even this one. Atlas shut theirs down in 2012. With the way things are going with this magazine, I wouldn’t be surprised if this forum gets the axe.

People have different priorities and preferences but forums are generally set up so members don’t have access to personal contact info unless a member voluntarily shares it with someone they feel they can trust.

They come for their own reasons. Obviously some come here as much for the social interaction as to talk about model trains, sometimes model trains are pretty much a vehicle or excuse to socialize online.

I particiapate in a number of forums so I don’t depend too much on any one. If MR magazine shuts this forum down, which I expect will happen sooner or later, it will not be horrible to me. Maybe it will be for some who have become dependant on it. I tend to prefer forums where trains or model trains are the focus, rather than social banter, or “coffee clutch” talk with “virtual” food. A couple of other forums are very much social centers and as such, I tend to visit less often - not much “meat” there. A few others are much more focused on the hobby and to me they are more satisfying.

But as they say, different strokes …

3

The mystery word appears to be work…

Sheldon

4

I don’t have any kind of notification plan in place. I do belong to a couple different forums, but I don’t post enough for anyone to miss me.

However, I just retired about a month ago at the age of 57. That might give me time to post a bit more and, maybe, someone might actually notice when I disappear!

5

I had guessed it, but didn’t understand why work had to have letters replaced with asteriks, like it was trying to go stealth or something. Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee to get some subtle thing here? or was that just done to play with our heads?

6

I am a new member here but I really appreciate the help and tips that I have received on this forum.

I only have an ipad, no computer, so when I post pictures here, it takes me a long time to do it. So in the last weeks, I decided to try model railroading Facebook groups. It’s way faster to post photos than here but my threads get lost very fast in the sea of threads. Plus, I have received a lot more helpful tips here than on Facebook so I am back even though this forum is not user friendly for ipad users like me.

7

This is interesting since I know several forum members who suddenly “disappeared”.

I have left enough information in some of my posts that it would not be difficult for someone to find my obituary when that happens.

That said, it is concerning when someone who actively posts just quits. I’m not sure why my first thought when that happens is that something bad has happened.

8

Before I joined this forum, I was a very active member, for years, on a wargaming forum used by thousands of people world-wide. The wargamers shared A LOT MORE personal information than the model railroaders do, but I think that is because we all met at coinventions/tournaments from time to time in the real world, so there was less anonymity amongst the participants.

Also, before I joined this forum, I had a substantial online presence with my previous employer.

I already had tons of personal presence under my real name in the web, so since I have always “existed” on the web, I don’t think about it much.

I have also 90% stopped offering advice/solutions/help to people in this forum. I communicate via email with four other regulars that have done the same thing for the same reason.

Continuously being shouted down by a know-it-all who can’t even figure out how to wire or operate an Atlas Controller, but constantly tells the experienced helpful people they are wrong, has taken a brutal hit to the helpful advice provided here.

I think this has just been the case in the last few months. Since I have been here, January 2017, Brakie, Rrinker, Neil B, PastorBob, and TamikawaTT are the only new arrivals on the RIP track from the forum usership, but four of them have been in the last 12 months. I pray this surge ends.

[q

9

To be honest, I can see how someone can get frustrated with these forums and give up. Topics often veer off course into politics, so a question like “why does Amtrak use this-or-that piece of equipment” will inevitably have mixed in with actual / factual answers several “government can’t do anything right so what do you expect?” answers.

Other folks can’t wait to show their detailed knowledge of railroad trivia, so a question like “what did railroads use as switchers in the steam era?” will elicit a quick answer “steam switchers were typically 0-6-0 or 0-8-0 types” which should suffice, but instead will then be followed with a reply of “you’re forgetting the Yooperland Central, a three-mile shortline in Ishpeming Michigan, that used a 2-4-2 as a switcher from 1899 to 1903…don’t you know anything?”.

I think some folks just want to be trolls and argue with whatever anyone says, or put out obviously untrue statements just to see how long they can get people riled up and responding.

10

Facebook.

11

The latter example is severely detrimental to these forums.

-Kevin

12

At some point in the last 6 months, I lost the ability to post as Tin Can; hence the Tin Can II avatar. I have also retired in Texas, moved to a rent house in Kansas, started a challenging new job, made numerous trips back to Texas as part of the final move, bought a house in Kansas, moved into the house in Kansas, begun renovations of said house in Kansas. Very little time for hobbies, although the Kansas house has a large basement with an incredible space for a layout/workshop. I may pop in once a day to this forum, and rarely post.

13

One morning I expect to wake up, grab a coffee, sit down at the computer and find this forum no longer exists. In the sixteen years, I have been here I have had a lot of enjoyable conversations both on the forum and through the PM option. I miss many of those that are no longer with us, many of them guided me through my return to the hobby.

That being said I really value my privacy. If I type my name in Google absolutely nothing comes up and I would like to keep it that way. If I find my days on this planet are coming to an end, I will most likely be one of those that has slipped off in the night.

I find myself on FB a lot more as it is a cornucopia of photos and other info. I came across one group that I joined that talks about nothing but how to detail track. Who knew?

FB has a global audience and the modeling is stunning and the specialized groups are the ultimate reference. People talk about not being able to go to the local hobby shop and talk to the owner. Well, a lot of manufacturers are on FB and often show up to chat. The boys from Rapido have gabfest and I have participated a few times and have gotten a lot of good answers to my inquiries live and in colour![(-D]

To be honest, I am on this forum out of habit, I joined 16 years ago because I was looking for help and enjoyed the interaction I found with the members and I still do. I don’t find myself asking for help here much anymore as FB is a Quantum Computer compare to this old beat-up “how-to” book. I think this forum is withering on the vine, but I’ll hang around till the end. When that happens I am easy to find on FB as I post the same pics over there.

14

In the convesation about MIA’s I am remembering “Grampy’s Trains” AKA DJ. He posted great pictures in Weekend Photo Fun of his very nice PRR layout. Suddenly, he quit posting at least 4 years ago now. Nobody was able to find out what happened to him.

In the Diner, we are wondering about John Boy AKA Last Mountain and Santa Fe who quit posting over a year ago. We know he had healthe issues.

15

I have curtailed forum activity lately. It has become tiresome.

Robert

16

Endorse.

17

I don’t mind if conversations veer off target but sometimes the moderators come on and nix them, even when it is not off target saying move along. I think a lot of people don’t like this as the computer has given us all a sense of freedom and trying to take that away offends many Americans, even those that are less than patriotic. This forum could be a goldmine in stearing people to this companys product, but mis handled and the oposite is true. Kalmbach sees the trees instead of the forest. Evolve or perish is what all the techies live by, Kalmbach could own the media of model railroading space if they wanted to and pick up other assets for little money.

18

I too have stopped giving advice (unless specifically asked me).

The last twice what the OP wanted was not what he asked, yet ‘blasted’ contributors for ‘giving the wrong information’.

Having said that, I like this Forum and read most threads.

David

19

Ditto

20

Thanks for the kind words, Kevin! [8D]